Drip-pan alarm.



T. COMEAU.

DRIP PAN ALARM.

APPLICATION mu) NOV. 23, 914.

Patented May 9, 1916.

Yusk

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TELESPHORE COMEAU, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS.

DRIP-PAN ALARM.

Application filed November 23, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, TriLEsPHoRE COMEAU, ofLawrence, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Drip- Pan Alarms, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to attachments for refrigerator drip pans, havingmeans for audibly indicating when the pan is so nearly full as to needemptying.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and easily appliedattachment of the character mentioned, which will be effective and ofexceedingly low cost.

To these ends my invention consists in the improvements which I shallnow proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings Figure 1 i a side elevation illustrating myinvention in one of its embodiments, a portion of the pan to which theattachment is connected being shown in section. Flg. 2 18 a plan view ofthe device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation from the left of Fig.1, the float arm being broken. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view ofthe spring bracket, or clamp member by which the device is removablyconnected to the pan. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustratingmy in- .vention in another form.

bracket, which is adapted to he slid on to or removed from the uprightside of the.

pan, comprises a single piece of wire, bent at its mid-length to form aloop 13, adapted to bear against the inner surface of the Wall of thepan, the wire being then bent to form coiled eyes 11, the two ends ofthe wire forming arms 15 adapted to yieldingly bear against the outersurface of the Wall of the pan.

A pivot bolt 16 extends through the two eyes 14, said bolt forming thepivot for the float arm 17, which is formed of a length of wire having acoiled eye 18 mounted upon the pivot 16, the end of the inner long arm17 entering a 'hole bored in a block of Wood 19 which constitutes thefloat adapted to be raised by the action of the water that drips fromthe refrigerator into the pan 12. By coiling the float lever or arm 17around the pivot bolt 16, between the eyes 14 of the Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Ma 9, 1916.

Serial No. 873,508.

spring bracket, said lever or arm i guided in its rocking or tiltingmovements. As shown by Figs. 1 and 2, the eye 18 fits closely betweenthe two eyes 11, the head and nut of pivot bolt 16 confining the threeeyes in the relative positions shown, so that the contacting sides ofthe eyes prevent the lever or arm from swinging laterally. The shortouter arm 20 of the float lever is preferably formed with a loop 21 toact upon the push-release 22 of the bell 23. The bell is of a well-knowntype, commonly called a bicycle bell, which is wound up by the user,which has a hammer which is released and rings an alarm whenever themember is pushed in. This type of bell is well known and needs nofurther description. The bottom of the bell is rigidly connected by anysuitable means to a base plate 21 (Fig. 3) carried by the arms 15. i

The spring clamp, or bracket, which carries the pivot 16 is, asexplained, made of one piece of wire, and it is, therefore, a cheap andeffective construction, providin a means of easily slipping the entireattachment onto a pan or off from it.

The wire arm 17 can be readily bent to adapt the attachment to differentpans, or to vary the point at which the alarm willbe operated by theincreasing amount of water in the pan. In other words, if it should bedesired to have the alarm operate when there is a considerably lesseramount of water in the pan than is indicated in Fig. 1, the arm 17 maybe easily bent downwardly. This is, also, especially effective when itis desired to adapt the attachment to a pan having a more or lessflaring side wall instead of a vertical wall.

The float 19 is made of a Hat piece of wood having a hole bored therein,preferably at an angle to snugly admit the end of arm 17. This providesa cheap and easily removable float. Of course the float may be of anysuitable size, or of any suitable wood. The fit of the end of the arm inthe hole bored in the wood is. of course, quite tight, and the swellingof the wood when the attachment is in use makes the connection amplytight for all practical purposes.

The attachment shown in Fig. 5 is sub- .stantially the same as shown inthe other socket carried by the base of the'bell 23 and secured as by ascrew This brings the bell in such a position that the push-releasemember 22 may contact with the outer surface of the wall of the pan soas to cause the alarm to sound when the float"19 is raised sufficientlyto swing the bell inwardly or toward the pan to the necessary extent torelease the hammer of the bell.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

A drip pan attachment having a spring bracket consisting of a singlepiece of Wire, bent to form inner and outer members for engaging thewall of a pan and having intermediat coiled eyes, a pivot bolt mountedin said eyes, a lever-consisting of a length of wire having a coiled eyemounted on said bolt and fitting closely between the coiled eyes of thebracket, a float carried by the inner end of the lever, means forconfining the eyes of the bracket against opposite sides of the eye ofthe lever, and a bell adapted to be sounded when the float reaches apredetermined upper position.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

TELESPHORE COMEAU.

Witnesses:

EMILE hlE R C-IER, Snmox E. J. LE GENDER.

